8am
The assessor arrives. Helen opens the day, then leaves them to it.
Sam's journey · The finale · Lesson
Audit day
Before you start
In the story
Eighteen stories' worth of evidence, and most of it was in somebody's inbox. Helen has a cake to explain.
Back to the story
The right way
9am
The project team is in the room: the project director, Stevie, Bev, Priya and Rex. Not just Sam.
10am
Ruth (assessor): Show me how you found the client's requirements.
Sam opens the requirements list. Tom explains the assumptions.
11am
Ruth (assessor): Show me who checked this drawing.
Rex finds the check record in the CDE in thirty seconds.
3pm
Two minor findings. Each one gets an owner and a date before the assessor has packed up.
4pm
Sam rings Helen. Helen stares at her phone, deeply suspicious.
Sam: We passed.
The same day as Helen's Lesson 6, seen from Sam's side.
In the inboxEvidence nobody could find, a leaver still logged in, and a cake to explain.
A normal dayEvery answer found in minutes, the team in the room, and two minor findings with owners.
Think like Sam
Audit day is a normal day where someone asks to see things. Pick one "show me" question a week and answer it yourself. If you have to go looking, that's your finding.
One last thing
The post-audit quiz
Eighteen questions, one for each of Sam's stories. Tender first, then delivery. Do well and there's a certificate in it.
The right way, explained
An inspector doesn't ask how the town's post works. They pick one parcel and follow it: who made it, who checked it, who signed for it, and where it lives now. If every stop left a stamp on the label, the walk takes ten minutes. If it didn't, it takes all day, and ends in somebody's inbox.
If you're the project manager
It's your audit too. Be in the room, bring the team, and make finding the evidence part of every week, not the week before.
ISO 19650 Being audited
ISO 19650 expects the information process to be planned, carried out and recorded, so you can show it happened. Audits, whether your own or a certification body's, test that by sampling: the assessor picks real items and asks to see the trail. That part is how audits work, not something the standard sets out. Anything that falls short becomes a finding, and each one needs an action, an owner and a date.
| What they sample | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| The requirements | Traced to where each one came from, with the gaps asked about |
| The plans | Confirmed, versioned and actually used |
| One deliverable | Made to the rules, checked, approved, authorised and accepted |
| Access | Joiners added on day one, leavers removed on their last day |
| Findings | Each with an action, an owner and a date |
Based on the ISO 19650 series: the ideas come from the standard; the plain-English wording, examples and advice are InfoTown's. ISO 19650 is © ISO and BSI. You'll hear the same language across the industry. Read more for free in the Information Management Initiative (IMI) Framework guidance from BSI and nima. For the full requirements, use the standard itself.